The only one left
by J. Giglio
Summary: "Just like Wally is out of juice, the apartment is void of all the good things that made it a home. As if the moment Artemis left for the mission, she took a part of Wally's life and life force with her." Spoiler warnings for The Fix.


**characters:** Wally West, Conner Kent – mentions of pretty much the whole old team. Strong SuperMartian and Spitfire feelings.

**spoilers warning:** Takes place after "The Fix".

**Words:** 2400+

**summary:** "Just like Wally is out of juice, the apartment is void of all the good things that made it a home. As if the moment Artemis left for the mission, she took a part of Wally's life and life force with her."

**the only one left**

Conner doesn't quite know how he got there.

Well, he does know the practical details of it : zeta-beam, a little jog and there he was. But as he raises his hand to knock on the door, he's still questioning himself as to _why _he chose to come, _when_ he had decided it and _who _would benefit from his visit. He knocks anyway, half expecting no one to answer, even if he can clearly pick up the sound of a dock barking and, softer and weaker, the mumbling of its owner.

"What is... Conner?"

Wally is a mess. Conner won't say that to his face, but he is. His red pajamas seem like they deserve some water and soap. He's got dark bags under his eyes – the kind that Conner himself would probably have if he wasn't _him_ – and he's even more pale than normal, as if he hasn't seen the sun for days now. From the smell, he probably hasn't showered very often either.

"Hey," he says, because he doesn't know what else to say. "You mind if I come in?"

"Yeah, sure man..." Wally takes a step back and the dog comes running to Conner, sniffing him. He probably smell like Wolf, because the dog makes a weird strangling sound. "It's okay, Nelson. He's a friend."

The dog – Nelson – seems to understand and starts to shake its tail ferociously. Conner pretends to play with the dog simply to not look Wally in the face for a moment. His last words are still resonating in his eardrums.

"Listen, I don't have a lot on the fridge, but I can order us some pizza, if you feel like eating."

It's Wally and he's offering him food, so Conner accepts it – because he wants to be polite and because he's still not sure what brought him here. He listens to Wally ordering fours different kinds of extra-large pizzas while playing with the dog.

"It's not great," he says, hanging up the phone. "But it's the only place open this late."

Conner looks at the clock on the kitchen wall: it's almost 3 a.m. and he knows he shouldn't be here. The only time he came over was when Wally and Artemis had called the team to see their new home. They spent the night talking and laughing, and even if Conner wasn't in his best mood, the gathering found a way to warm his spirit in a way.

The smell of drying paint still lingered on the walls, and there were boxes of unpacked books lying in a corner of the room, waiting to be shelved, and the cable guy hadn't come over, so they only had a couple of channels to zap through, which immediately reminded them of the hours watching the "No Signal" sign in the huge plasma TV on the Cave.

It felt close to happiness, really, and Conner wished he had somewhere he could also call home. It is something so granted for everyone else, but he had never really had one. Cadmus certainly hadn't been that, and the Cave was almost like that – but with Batman coming and going, and Black Canary constantly complaining about their lack of organization and Red Tornado always calling them through the comms, the _almost_ made a big difference.

He remembers hugging M'gann close when he felt that he would never have a home. She was beautiful that night, glowing really, and the friendly company had allowed her to slip into her green humanoid form, and tingle his mind with the tiniest jokes, just to see how much he would resist.

Thinking back, it was probably the last time all of them were together – Garth was still on the surface, Tula and Jason were still alive, and Kaldur...

"I know about Kaldur," it slips out of Conner's mouth before he can refrain himself. "And Artemis. And this ridiculous plan you guys have set up."

"I didn't do _anything_", Wally blurts, as if he's been practicing this answer for a long time. Maybe he has. "I would _never _put Artemis in danger!"

"What about everyone else? Did you think about them? About _us_?"

Wally draws a deep breath and his shoulders rise and fall. He shakes his head, and his back is against the wall and he slips until he's sitting on the floor, between the living room and the kitchen.

"He never came to me," he says, defeated. When he raises his head, Conner can see his eyes are muted and watery. "He asked Artemis because he knew I would never agree with it. But she would. And she did." He punches the floor by his side and Conner knows it must hurt, because his knuckles are too red to be healthy. Maybe he's done this before, maybe he's doing this often. "She insisted on letting me know. Said it would be too hard for her leaving me behind, thinking that she died."

Conner tries to interrupt. He tries to talk, because that's what he came here for. He's here because he's dumped his frustrations on Nightwing, and now Wally needs to hear his share. But the speedster is not himself. At least not the one Conner knows. Wally's out of juice. Wally's run all he could but he's not refueling himself. Wally's burned out.

So he stands, leaving the soft couch he was sitting on, and sits down in front of Wally. Close enough so that he doesn't have to strain himself to talk, far enough so that he knows he still has his personal space intact.

"_You _should've told us," Conner tries to speak in the most decisive yet non-violent tone he can manage. "If Nighwing suspected something..."

"Kaldur was right about the mole, wasn't he?" Wally shoots. "No one ever saw Roy selling us out."

Conner frowns at the same time Wally does so. They know he doesn't mean it. Roy was not _himself_ when he sold them out. But that doesn't mean it hasn't taken its toll.

"Do you have any idea of how it left us? We _mourned_ Artemis! Mount Justice was blown up! And M'gann..."

He refrains himself and the doorbell rings. It's the pizza. He raises up and Wally is shaking his wallet at him. The guy who's delivering the pizza doesn't take the money, though. He says it's on the house, and when Conner comes back with the four boxes, he sees a dozen more, emptied and thrown on the garbage, way pass the time to be taken out.

Conner puts the boxes in the space between them and settles down again. Wally takes a slice – it's dripping with cheese and fat but he doesn't bother to take a bite.

"What did M'gann do?" he asks, trying to sound casual. He sounds ridiculously like a lost puppy instead.

"It doesn't matter now."

"Yeah, it does. Who else have his plans ruined this time?"

Conner takes a slice and takes a bite, because Wally seems to revel in his own pity to realize that he's joking, and that his jokes are long overdue.

"M'gann goes after Kaldur. Decides to take maters in her own hands," he answers. His voice is mechanical, even to his own ears. "Leaves Kaldur catatonic."

"What?"

But Conner is not paying Wally any attention. He's looking at his pizza slice like it's the most interesting thing in the world.

"Artemis takes M'gann, probably because she knows no one else can undo it." He raises his eyes and Wally looks dumb. He always did, in a way. "So now half of our original team is under Black Manta's roof."

"I miss her."

Wally's remark is almost lost, even to Conner's sensitive ears.

"I know."

They stay silent for long minutes, eating slowly the first pizza. Only when the box is empty does Wally start talking again.

"I'm sorry about M'gann. And Kaldur."

"He was a good friend," he says. "La'gaan is in the hospital because of a broken leg and..."

"Conner?"

Conner's eyes meet Wally's, and the read-head is giving him something like an apologetic smile. He looks like the 15-year-old who welcomed him into his parent's house – into his home – when Conner had no place to go. Except this place – this apartment that once made Conner regret never having a home – doesn't feel like anything else other than a simple apartment. Just like Wally is out of juice, the apartment is void of all the good things that made it a home. As if the moment Artemis left for the mission, she took a part of Wally's life and life force with her.

And Conner – even against all odds – understands it.

So he's a little less angry when says, "Yes?"

"You miss her, don't you?"

And he's back to the hospital room, to his little discussion with La'gaan and all the overwhelming feelings he has whenever M'gann's in danger. He tries to deny it – he's been trying to deny it since they broke out – but either the pizza doesn't agree with his stomach or this time it's too much. So he nods, "Uh-hum".

"I'm sorry for not telling you." He opens the second pizza box and hands a slice to Conner, who decided that a greasy pizza is actually good. "Do you ever see Nightwing in his civvies anymore?"

Conner shakes his head, because it's been months – maybe a year – since Nightwing showed up wearing something other than his costume. When they were younger, it was a regular thing to happen, all of them hanging out in the Cave out of their uniforms. Not that it ever made much of a difference in Connor's case, but it was nice to see people not being heroes all the time. Like when he's with the Kents, or when he visits Clark in Metropolis.

"I know you're afraid for everyone," Wally goes on, after having eaten half a pizza. "But I'm also worried about him. This thing, this _plan_, it's gone to his head. I don't know if he feels like he can trust anyone. And you can't lead the team without trusting the others."

He opens the third box, and doesn't even offer Conner a slice. Wally's coming to himself again. It probably won't last, but he's taking a break from his pit and breathing some fresh air for a change.

"They _will_ figure something out."

"How can you be sure? The three of them are down there, we don't even know _where_, Kaldur is _hardly _functional and they're surrounded by enemies!"

"They'll figure something out," Wally repeated. "They'll have to."

"And if they don't? Has it ever occur to you that this may not be the best of Nightwing's plans?"

From the look Wally gives him, it has.

"Artemis would never let M'gann get hurt," he says. "She would find a way for her to escape. Even if..."

Wally lets the thought trail and stuffs almost a whole slice into his mouth. Conner is afraid to do the same because of the big lump on his throat, so he just takes a bite instead. His mind is back to that failsafe exercise and to how Wally reacted when Artemis died before his eyes. Yes, they were younger. But he doesn't think the speedster's reaction would be any different.

The silence is now uncomfortable, as the Wally that could eat an entire pizza in minutes was also the Wally that could never shut up.

"You need to keep things in place," Wally finally breaks the silence. "You're the only one of us left by Nightwing's side."

It hits Conner harder than before. He already noticed that, but it feels heavier when someone else mentions this burden he feels he's been carrying for weeks. And he misses his friends, and those early days, when everything was so much simpler. He misses hugging M'gann and watching TV while her cookies were in the oven, and playing videogames against Wally, and working on the Sphere's maintenance with then Robin, and practicing his fighting skills with Artemis and – now that he's allowed himself to think of him again – practicing his Atlantean with Kaldur.

He swallows what's left of his pizza and looks back at Wally. His head is rested against the door frame and his eyes are blinking slower than before. He's tired and he's allowing himself to feel that.

"I'm going now. The Kents are waiting for me in Smallville," Conner says, getting up. He closes the boxes and stacks them with the others. "You should eat better. Try to cook something, would you?"

Wally snorts as he gets to his feet in a normal speed. He must be really tired. "Artemis did..._does_ all the cooking. But I guess I can cook an egg or twenty." And he cracks a smile. And so does Conner.

When they're at the door, Nelson gets up for one last patting from Conner before going back to his spot on the sofa. And the two of them stand there, without knowing very well how to say their goodbyes because last time they met, it was such a different situation, goodbyes hardly mattered.

And Wally takes a step forward and hugs Conner. Not the fraternal hug he usually gets from Clark, but as if Wally is holding for dear life. Conner replies with less strength – he never knows how much is _too_ much – but doesn't push him away.

"Thanks, man. It meant a lot."

And Conner is on his way to the nearest zeta-beam, and he looks at the sky. It's a clear night, and the full moon shines on him, clear and silver, lighting his way. It reminds him of the day he was rescued by his friends. It reminds him of all the cuts and bruises he got and how much they were worth. It reminds him of all the good memories he allowed himself to create since becoming his own man.

It reminds him of how sometimes, things change abruptly, and sometimes it's for the best. One moment, you're in a pod, being fed with nutrients and knowledge and the idea to kill Superman if you have to. The next thing you know, you're seeing the moon for the first time.

It reminds him of new beginnings. Of tending to a teammate's cold, to a broken bone or a Chemistry problem. Of helping each other with bad guys and inner demons. Of trusting his friends and moving on.

He knows Wally's right: he needs to make sure no one else gets hurt.

He needs to keep trusting his friends and moving on.

**A.N.:** Thank you for reading this! "The Fix" had me writing all weekend, and this is what I came up with. I'm glad we had some Conner screentime/development, as I really wish the show took more time to explore the characters as well as the plot. Anyway, reviews always make me happy!


End file.
